On Monday the 2nd of November Geri and her husband got married. Geri’s Chinese name is 耿红 (Geng Hong) and her husbands name is 冯小东 (Feng Xiao Dong) he has no English name, so he’ll be affectionately referred to as “Geri’s Husband” from here on in. I was honoured to be invited, as was my camera. As you’ll know from my coverage of Rob’s wedding Chinese weddings are quite the affair. It started the night before with us going to their new apartment to meet the groom’s side of the family, and generally plan the next day. Myself and B went, and were then treated to dinner with the groom’s nearest and dearest. The next day saw a 5:30am wakeup, for a 6:00am rendezvous, we were collected by minibus and headed to the couples new apartment to again meet the groom, eat some food and so on…

Arriving at 6:20, the first order of day is covering the license plates of all the wedding cars. I love this about China. The wedding car convoy was pretty cool. A new black BMW 525i serving as the head car, and then a fleet of 5-6 identical black Audi A4 2.0Ts to add to the convoy.

People gathering around and getting ready to head out.

Everyone was looking quite smart. On the left is “little sea”, the groom’s cousin, and the right he’s posing with Geri’s husband.

The groom’s family. A very nice, friendly bunch of people.

as with Rob’s wedding, the grooms friends present gifts to the bride’s parents.

The MC doing some pieces into the camera.

One of the cleanest cars I have seen in China.

Roughly translated: “I’m going to get my wife…”

Me doing what I do best; hanging out of a car window to take photos. 🙂 It was bloody cold!

but; nice, clear skies. 🙂

All this prep work, and the sun was only just starting to show its face.

The convoy!

We were driving to Geri’s hometown of FuPing, about an hour by car if you’re rolling in a slow convoy. Some nice scenery en route though. It was too cold to take photos most of the way! The dash of our VW claimed 0.5’c.

The ass of the convoy.

one of the drivers looking like a dude.

Beryl looking beautiful; but cold.

Doing exercises to stay warm.

Riding a motorbike with with one hand to keep the other warm in his hand.

Turning into Geri’s road.

Keeping with tradition; we arrive to a closed, locked door with no signs of life.

The Chinese solution; explosives!

They were LOUD.

Starting to get excited that his wife-to-be is just meters away. 🙂

Lots of knocking and shouting returned with “There’s nobody here!”

“But I have flowers!”

Groom and cousin formulating a plan while more pleading continues threw the crack in the door.

The door slightly opens and then “CHARGE!” Everyone pushes in.

Marching through the courtyard.

Only to be greeted by another locked door.

Finally inside; the groom presents the flowers to his bride-to-be.

Pinning a flower to her dress.

Presenting the gifts to the parents.

Best man, Groom, Bride and Chief Bridesmaid.

Cute kid! ^_^

Together at last. 🙂

Two beautiful girls! 🙂

Scoffed some more food at Geri’s family home.

I quite liked this shot in the mirror.

carrying his bride-to-be to the car.

In the minibus for the hour journey back to the couples new appartment. At this point they’re still not ‘married’.

The couple arrive.

More fireworks, of course, this is China.

The groom carries the bride while being attacked by silly string.

after carrying the bride up six flights of stairs the door is closed, and another Chinese problem; the people inside wont open the door.

Another Chinese solution; bribery! The red envelopes contain money.

Inside and Geri is carried into the couples’ new bedroom. I didn’t get many shots of the apartment (it was full of people!) but it is SUPER, SUPER nice!

Finally the groom can sit down and rest.

Pretty people of all ages!

Bride, Groom and Grandparents.

Proud mother and daughter.

Lots of balloons!

Lots of people!

Cute; but out of focus.

And back in the car to head to the restaurant for the actual wedding part of the wedding. :p

Outside the restaurant the bride and groom are ready to meet and greet everyone.

and meeeeeeeeeee!

The groom’s mother in “traditional” Chinese opera makeup.

and of course, the father!

From left to right: A Chinese person, a Chinese person, a Chinese person, a Chinese person, a Chinese person, a Chinese person.

Meanwhile, the bride and groom are still outside meeting and greeting.

More baby cuteness!

People from school came too, pictured here; Jenny.

The MC in his best clothes. Haha. Oh, and while I remember, thats a quick snap of their new bedroom; Complete with one of their pre-wedding photos; which I was most impressed by considering the usual cheesy-ness and bad quality of Chinese photography.

Geri waiting to walk down the aisle.

Then, the groom bursts into song, and walks down the aisle to greet his wife-to-be. He’s a very good singer! I was shocked! Then they walk down the aisle and start some ceremonious shenanigans; such as the pictured drinking.

This wedding; unlike Rob’s — was without translator. It made it quite hard to photograph; as I had no idea what was happening or what would happen next. I guess I really need to practice my Chinese.

A good couple!

The Chinese fascination with bubbles also continues to fascinate me. Here some government guy is laying down the legal jargon on the marriage; and bubbles stream onto the stage. Either that or my Chinese is very rusty and I misunderstood.

A bit of bowing…

…a bit of hugging…

…and a bit of talking. All the company leaders of the couples’ companies give talks. Here, Sheldon (the manager at Aston) is saying something in Chinese. Again; really need to practice my Chinese listening skills.

I like these streamers.

“Hand on heart…”

Pronounced man and wife; and then a friend ambushes them with silly string!

Removing silly string from Geri’s eyes.

Toasting the new couple!

More delicious food! This is the third meal of the day (at around 1pm) for those counting…

Happy family!

The other half of the now-combined family.

Awh!

Mistaking a friend for his new-wife.

A few photos outside; then everyone headed home.

This is only a slice of the photos. In total I took nearly 600 photos; you can see them all, HERE!
or, if you just want the top 50; they’re here.

It was a wonderful day, and I was honoured to be invited. I’d like to extend my warmest wishes to the new, happy couple!

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